


We Made Our Own Stars

by tehfanglyfish



Series: Sleep [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Camping, Canon Era, Deviates From Canon, Established Relationship, Frustrated Arthur, I Know It's Getting Me Down, M/M, Sometimes Confinement Gets One Down, Sweet Merlin (Merlin), of a sort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:40:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25362520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehfanglyfish/pseuds/tehfanglyfish
Summary: Bored and restless from being cooped up inside the castle, Arthur can't sleep. Merlin improvises a midnight camping trip.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Sleep [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1565566
Comments: 37
Kudos: 240





	We Made Our Own Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Gentle readers, do you remember places? Do you remember going to them? Wow, what times those were! I'm starting to think this damn virus is going leave me at home FOREVER!!!!!!!!
> 
> You know this, but just in case there are lawyers lurking, I don't own these characters or this franchise. If I did, I'd be commissioning a new animated series for S6 so we would all have something to do as we sit at home.

“That’s it!” Merlin snapped as he climbed out of bed and began gathering his clothes. “I cannot take another night of your fidgeting. I’m going…”

The rustle of the blankets drew his gaze back to Arthur who was now sitting up, eyes wide with something bordering on fear.

“Camping,” Merlin finished. “And you’re coming too.”

“Merlin, what are you talking about? You hate camping.”

“Sometimes sacrifices must be made.”

“Besides, it’s the middle of the night, it’s the middle of winter. We can’t…”

“Shut up and put your trousers on while I pack.”

It wasn’t that Merlin didn’t enjoy sharing a bed with Arthur. The royal chambers were, on the whole, a vast improvement over Merlin’s old sleeping arrangements. The bed was larger, the mattress was softer, there was Arthur to curl up with at night.

But few and far between as they might be, times did arise when Merlin was tempted to sneak off to his old abandoned room simply to get a good night’s sleep.

Take tonight. Every time Merlin had almost drifted off, Arthur sighed or shifted, jarring Merlin awake. It wasn’t his fault. The past few weeks had been bitterly cold, temperatures far below what was normal for a Camelot winter. Sufficient firewood and food had been distributed to the people. Everyone was safe, so long as they stayed indoors and waited for the cold to break.

It was fun at first. There were nighttime gatherings for singing, dancing, and storytelling. But as days became weeks, the inhabitants of the castle grew restless. Including the king.

Yes, Merlin and Arthur had their own private methods of burning off excess energy, but after a while, the malaise settling on the castle exacted a toll on desire.

That left Arthur tossing and turning at night, waking Merlin in the process.

“What is all of this?” Arthur asked as Merlin shoved multiple packs at him. “Can’t you magic it weigh less?”

“Muscle exertion will be good for you. Now follow me.”

They crept out of Arthur’s chambers. There was no reason for them to sneak about, but it made the whole affair more exciting. Merlin was pretty sure that they were spotted as they roamed from one corridor to the next, but the guard said nothing. The king and his husband behaving strangely was more to be expected; it was when they acted normally that people worried.

“Where are we going?” Arthur asked as Merlin led him into a servants’ stairway.

“I told you - camping. But first we must evade a foul beast to secure provisions.”

That much wasn’t a lie. Though the confinement had led to a more relaxed atmosphere in the castle, Audrey continued to maintain strict discipline in her kitchens. If she caught them nicking food, it wouldn’t matter that Arthur was the king. There would be hell to pay.

Carefully, they tiptoed past where she was dozing in a chair, Arthur adding a couple of pies as Merlin gathered bread and cheese.

Food acquired, they left the kitchen.

“Now, we must scale a tall mountain.”

“You’ve completely lost your mind,” Arthur grumbled but followed Merlin into yet another stairwell. Up they climbed, traversing hallways to access another set of stairs that took them back down. Though perplexed, Arthur stayed at Merlin’s side as they trudged through the throne room, stopped to grab candles off the round table, and poked around in the laundry.

Finally, when Merlin’s legs decided they’d had enough, he led Arthur on to their final destination.

“The library?” Arthur asked as Merlin cast a spell to light the fire. “We went through all of that just to end up in the library?”

“Be quiet and help me set up camp.”

Arthur opened his mouth as if to say more, then shook his head and closed it.

Merlin had chosen the library for a few reasons. It offered privacy. Few people went there apart from Geoffrey and the cold had caused his knees to act up. To avoid climbing the stairs, he’d retreated to his chambers with his favorite books, fully prepared to spend a month holed up if necessary.

There was plenty of room for what Merlin had in mind as they moved the furniture about. He removed some of the items he’d grabbed from their chambers and the laundry, causing Arthur to stare at him with even more confusion.

“Here, take the other side of this sheet.”

Arthur followed Merlin’s lead, stretching it across the open space between two tables.

“Now the blankets and pillows.” Merlin pulled them out of the pack Arthur had been carrying. He whispered a cleaning spell, then spread them about on the floor under the sheet.

“ _That’s_ what you had in there? I thought you’d packed the entire armory with how heavy it was.”

“I might have added some weight to help tire you.”

“Sorcerers are not to be trusted,” Arthur muttered.

Merlin kissed Arthur’s cheek and shoved a bundle of food in his arms.

“Kick your boots off and get comfortable. There is one more thing we need.”

Before Arthur could say anything, he hurried away to the bookshelves. It didn’t take long to find the secret closet, the one where Merlin had discovered the goblin so many years ago. The goblin had long-since been banished, making it safe for Merlin to reach in and retrieve what he was after.

“That should do it. We’re ready.”

Unlike the rest of the artifacts in the hidden closet, the lantern was not enchanted. But when Merlin placed a candle inside, light poured out through the designs cut into its sides, projecting stars into the dark room.

“Oh,” Arthur said as Merlin took Arthur by the hand, pulling him down to the floor.

“I told you I was taking you camping. This is our tent,” Merlin explained. “We made our own stars. And there's food for breakfast. We’ve walked the length of the Valley of the Kings. Maybe now you’ll be able to sleep.”

Arthur stretched out on the cushions, gesturing for Merlin to join him.

“It’s perfect,” Arthur said as Merlin reclined at his side. “Although now that we’re here, sleep is the last thing on my mind.”

Merlin opened his mouth to beg, to plead, to scream – he wasn’t sure. Not that it mattered. Arthur cut him off with a kiss and all thoughts of sleep vanished. How could Merlin possibly care about rest when Arthur’s hands were touching him there? Besides, now his tongue was doing that. It would be rude for Merlin not to reciprocate. Especially when Arthur whimpered in that way that made Merlin’s toes curl.

Much later, when they were far too tired to move, Merlin lay on his back, Arthur wrapped up in his arms.

“Thought you hated camping,” Arthur murmured.

“It’s growing on me.”

“Good. I’ll plan our next expedition. But in the morning. Right now we need to sleep.”

And so, under the stars, they did.


End file.
